Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
surgeanthem
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 11:44 am

Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by surgeanthem » Mon Apr 12, 2021 3:46 am

So I have to put stems into my projects because my computer won't handle all of the plugins and freezing doesn't always work (it sometimes crashes ableton just to freeze). So why is it when I open my project, all of my stems are just gone? That is hundreds of hours, just disappeared. I paid for ableton- $400 about, and ableton support won't get back to me because of the pandemic. Is there any hope for my producing career? Should I ditch ableton?

Oh, and often entire tracks are just silenced without me pressing any button to do so. Today I had to quit ableton 5 times and restart it just to hear my tracks again.

Thank you in advance!

pottering
Posts: 1800
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2014 4:41 am

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by pottering » Mon Apr 12, 2021 4:58 am

Live doesn't delete files without direct user intervention.

Some people have problems with iCloud or other cloud service that upload files online and delete the local files.

Live doesn't read online files, files have to be local, in the drive, not online.
♥♥♥

surgeanthem
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 11:44 am

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by surgeanthem » Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:38 am

No, the tracks and stems were deleted IN ABLETON BY ABLETON.

Was I not that clear?

oratowsky
Posts: 156
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2007 12:09 am
Location: la

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by oratowsky » Tue Apr 13, 2021 1:07 am

When you say "stems", you mean audio files ? Audio tracks ?

Do you have any midi controllers attached?

Can you post a screenshot or take a video when this is occurring?

What you describe is not normal and must be caused by inadvertent input somewhere.

stringtapper
Posts: 6302
Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2004 6:21 pm

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by stringtapper » Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:17 pm

surgeanthem wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:38 am
No, the tracks and stems were deleted IN ABLETON BY ABLETON.

Was I not that clear?
Well, no, you weren't.

Are you saying that the audio files are literally disappearing in front of your eyes while using the app??
Unsound Designer

[jur]
Site Admin
Posts: 5272
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:04 pm
Location: Ableton

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by [jur] » Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:41 pm

stringtapper wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:17 pm
surgeanthem wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:38 am
No, the tracks and stems were deleted IN ABLETON BY ABLETON.

Was I not that clear?
Well, no, you weren't.

Are you saying that the audio files are literally disappearing in front of your eyes while using the app??
And, are you using M4L devices?
Ableton Forum Moderator

stringtapper
Posts: 6302
Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2004 6:21 pm

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by stringtapper » Tue Apr 13, 2021 4:18 pm

If you're coming back to a project and your audio files are gone, Live is going to tell you that they're missing with an alert and the regions will be "empty" looking. This means your audio files are either being moved or deleted at the system level (i.e. that's "you" and not "Ableton").

If you're just seeing nothing at all, then that's something else. Which version of Live are you using and what is your OS/setup?
Unsound Designer

surgeanthem
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 11:44 am

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by surgeanthem » Tue May 25, 2021 6:46 pm

Hey! Sorry. There are markers that show the outlines of the tracks that say "sample missing". I don't know about M4A. I use core audio- mac.
Thank you!

[jur]
Site Admin
Posts: 5272
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:04 pm
Location: Ableton

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by [jur] » Tue May 25, 2021 10:26 pm

surgeanthem wrote:
Tue May 25, 2021 6:46 pm
There are markers that show the outlines of the tracks that say "sample missing".
That's what we were saying: you somehow moved those files to a different place from where they were when you saved your live set.
External hard drive? Cloud storage? Thrash?
Ableton Forum Moderator

surgeanthem
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 11:44 am

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by surgeanthem » Thu Jun 10, 2021 12:44 am

So they exist somewhere else, and their existence in ableton is based on their existence in that other place? How fucked up is that? How do I change this phenomenon?

[jur]
Site Admin
Posts: 5272
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:04 pm
Location: Ableton

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by [jur] » Thu Jun 10, 2021 2:08 am

surgeanthem wrote:
Thu Jun 10, 2021 12:44 am
So they exist somewhere else, and their existence in ableton is based on their existence in that other place? How fucked up is that? How do I change this phenomenon?
:?
Nope.
Live works just like any software that uses files! When you save a live set, each used audio file is referenced as Live has to know where these files are to use them, obviously.
So, when you move an audio file from the Finder/explorer, how is Live supposed to magically know where you moved it?? Live isn't an OS...
Nothing's fucked up here. You would be lost too if someone else moved your favorite t-shirt to another city without telling you, right?
Ableton Forum Moderator

surgeanthem
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 11:44 am

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by surgeanthem » Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:07 am

But that's the thing. I am wearing the t-shirt at all times- I am a cartoon character, call me Shaggy. I have my one green shirt all pressed from the cleaners (I wait shirtless in the lobby while it is being cleaned- everyone gives me weird looks but I don't care). I put it on, smell it, make some weird noise and probably go raid the fridge. But wait! A bad man in a bunny suit drew a kids drawing (barely identifiable) of my shirt when it was at the cleaners and did some voodoo magic on it so that the picture disappeared whenever I accidentally tripped over it and threw it in the trash can. Turns out, the trash can in my world is an incenerator and both the picture and the shirt ended up in it!

Can you figure this one out for the mystery hunters?

And why would there NEED to be a picture of the shirt in the first place, shaggy might wonder. If he has on the shirt at all times, he doesn't need anything extra that reminds him of it, does he? It exists on his person- that is the only place it needs to exist!

jestermgee
Posts: 4500
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 6:38 am

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by jestermgee » Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:49 am

But that's the thing
That's about where you lost me, understand nothing further from that point onward. The problem and explanation from others seems pretty easy to understand, not sure what the malfunction in comprehension is but that story does help to explain a little.

Image

chapelier fou
Posts: 6002
Joined: Mon May 15, 2006 12:15 pm

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by chapelier fou » Thu Jun 10, 2021 6:26 am

That was really funny to read, thanks for the entertainment :D
MacBook Pro 13" Retina i7 2.8 GHz OS 10.13, L10.0.1, M4L.
MacStudio M1Max 32Go OS 12.3.1

[jur]
Site Admin
Posts: 5272
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:04 pm
Location: Ableton

Re: Why does ableton constantly delete my stems? And silence my tracks?

Post by [jur] » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:10 pm

surgeanthem wrote:
Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:07 am
A bad man in a bunny suit drew a kids drawing (barely identifiable)
This could be a reference to several things, but I take it has an hommage to the amazing Utopia!
We're lost, though.
Ableton Forum Moderator

Post Reply